Chapter 232 She Wants To Have S-*-x
The beginner's training for explorers is a place to teach newcomers who just registered with the guild about the mindset of being an explorer, the guild rules, and the unspoken agreements and customs in this industry.
Usually, people who take on the rough job of being an explorer are known to be tough. Because of this, the instructors for the training are often strong-looking guild staff who used to be explorers themselves. This is done to prevent the new, overly confident recruits from looking down on them.
That said...
"It's not common for everyone gathered for training to start a brawl."
A big bald man standing at the front of the room said this with a hint of disbelief.
The ones listening to him were 5 boys, including Aaron, who were seated at the front of the room.
All of them had swollen faces from a heated debate, but their right cheeks were especially large and puffy.
"You guys are rare idiots."
"Shut up, you jerk!"
"I can't even understand what you're saying!"
Aaron tried to argue back, but his voice was unclear and seemed hard to hear.
The big man let out a big sigh, shook his head, and said,
"Look, can't you all just get along... well, I'm not saying you have to be friends, but can't you at least behave during training? You all are orphans from the Empire. Your situations are pretty much the same, right?"
"""!?"""
At the big man's words, Aaron and the others instinctively exchanged glances with their swollen eyes.
The reason was the phrase "orphans from the Empire."
What this refers to is simple: it means those who became orphans and flowed into Necronia due to the orc stampede that started with the death of the ancient dragon Urpustra.
For several years now, it has been common for orphans from the Empire to become explorers, and in the guild, they have come to be called the "Empire's Orphan Group."
That said, it's quite rare for everyone participating in a lecture to happen to be from the "Empire's Orphan Group"... or so one thought, but actually, that's not the case.
It's common for those who have lost their families to become explorers, and it's not unusual for the participants of a lecture to be only from the "Empire's Orphan Group"――though it doesn't happen all the time, it's not that rare either.
However, when they are told that they share the same circumstances, it's natural to feel a sense of closeness.
Aaron casually looked around at the boys' faces and thought.
(These guys also experienced that stampede and lost their families...)
They survived that hellish stampede and chose the path of becoming explorers, just like him. There must have been significant tragedy and hardship behind that. It should be, yet...
(Even after experiencing that tragedy, there are some who can show such foolish faces and live carefree...)
That might have been a kind of shock.
Though they were foolish boys with no signs of intelligence in their faces or actions, that's exactly why they seemed to be living forward without being dragged down by their past, unlike him.
Aaron felt a kind of mental strength in them that was different from his own delicate self.
Meanwhile, Boy A also casually looked around at Aaron and the others and thought.
(Just like me, these guys also went through that stampede... But they all look so stupid... Their actions were just as dumb... But maybe because of that, they're living strong...)
Boy A felt a mental strength in Aaron and the others that was different from his own sensitivity.
Meanwhile, Boys B, C, and D also glanced around at the others and thought.
(((With these stupid faces, they're the same... Compared to that, I'm...)))
They felt a rough kind of mental strength in the others that was different from their own tendency to overthink because they were smart!!
"Well, anyway... make sure to take the lessons seriously, okay? If you mess around, I won't hesitate to take away your explorer qualifications!"
And so, the lessons began.
After realizing they couldn't win against the big guy who had just punched them, Aaron and the others decided it was time to be patient and quietly attend the lessons.
After several hours, the lessons finally ended.
"Well, I guess that's it... Is there anything else to say――... Oh, right, you guys."
Just as they were about to leave after finishing all the lesson content, the big guy suddenly remembered to ask.
"I saw in the preliminary materials that you haven't applied for a party yet, so what are you going to do? You do have someone to team up with, right?"
"""......"""
At the big guy's words, Aaron and the others kept silent while glancing at each other's faces.
The truth was, none of them had anyone to form a party with. However, they all shared the understanding that they could just find someone later.
That's not wrong. Many new explorers usually find a party to join after finishing their training, or they look for new party members. While there are some who already have party members decided before registering with the guild, they are in the minority overall.
So, it's not strange that Aaron and the others haven't applied to join a party yet.
――Until a little while ago.
The big man says.
"I thought you might know, but the number of explorers has been increasing for a few years now. There are quite a few new orphans like you guys. And because of that, for about a year now, existing parties have already reached their member limit. There are hardly any parties with open spots. Right now, it's tough to find a party willing to take in new members unless you have connections."
"""......!?"""
A faint look of shock appears on Aaron and the others' faces.
They hadn't heard this before. If they had looked into the inner workings of the explorer guild beforehand, it would have been easy to understand, but none of them had done any research.
However, the big man continues without noticing their surprise. His face is so swollen that he couldn't pick up on any subtle changes in their expressions.
"In other words, if you want to form a party, you'll have to create one yourselves. There's no way any fool would try to go solo... right?"
"""......No way!"""
After looking at each other, Aaron and the others nodded firmly.
In truth, everyone was thinking that if they couldn't find any members, going solo would be fine, but exploring alone as a newbie was basically a way to commit suicide. Plus, it would be annoying to be thought of as an idiot by the big guy, so everyone put on a brave face.
"Well, yeah. You guys aren't dumb enough to think you can handle it solo, right?"
"""Y-yeah! Of course!!"""
"Alright, that's it for the lecture. Make sure to submit your party applications before entering the labyrinth, okay? Now, dismissed!"
With that, the big guy left the room.
"""......"""
For some reason, Aaron and the others also started to leave the room together, going down the stairs, passing through the guild's lobby on the first floor, and stepping outside.
"""......"""
As they each prepared to head home, they started walking in different directions――but for some reason, they stopped right outside the guild.
"""......"""
Everyone understood.
They knew that finding party members now wouldn't be easy. However, conveniently, there were suitable candidates right here at this moment.
Silent glances and unspoken thoughts exchanged among them.
The first to speak up was Boy A.
"Oi, can I ask you something?"
"""......"""
The other 4 nodded silently.
* * *
The scene shifted to a cheap tavern near the explorer guild.
"What can I get you?"
"""Just water."""
"...Anything else?"
"""That's it."""
"...Tch, you broke guys..."
Despite the waitress's rude comments, Aaron and the others only ordered the cheapest water and took over a table.
After waiting for their water to arrive, they began to talk.
"Well, since we finally met, how about we introduce ourselves?"
Boy A started the conversation, and Aaron and the others began to introduce themselves.
Their names are as follows:
Boy A's name is Lion. His job is 'Beginner Swordsman', just like Aaron.
Boy B's name is Jack. His job is 'Basic Spearman'.
Boy C's name is Ryan. His job is 'Basic Archer'.
Boy D's name is Lewis. His job is 'Basic Fire Magician'.
They were all orphans, just like Aaron. As they shared their stories, it turned out they all had similar experiences. In other words, they all lost their families in the stampede. They had no parents, siblings, or relatives at all.
"""......"""
It's really rare for people to have such similar backgrounds.
However, they felt that it was not just a coincidence; there was something fateful about it. Everyone exchanged glances and naturally understood what each other was thinking.
"Hey――."
Who would speak first? After a moment of silence, it was Lion who made the suggestion.
"How about we form a party?"
"......"
The other 4 looked at each other and then finally turned back to Lion.
"""No objections!!"""
With smiles on their battered faces, everyone nodded.
This is the story of how the "Sword of Glory" was formed.
"Hey! You guys! Can you hurry up and go home!?"
And after occupying a table for over 2 hours with just water, the waitress, who couldn't stop clicking her tongue, finally lost her patience and shouted.
* * *
From here on, they would all be working together until Aaron left.
During that time, there were fights and various issues, but they quickly deepened their friendship. It was as if they had been friends since childhood, knowing each other for years.
This was partly due to their similar circumstances, but the main reason was that everyone except "him" was a fool.
Even after experiencing tough events, seeing someone who could still laugh gave courage to those of them who had gone through the same things. They naturally encouraged each other.
"But――."
Lion, who had shared his past with Fiona, said.
"While working with us, Aaron definitely started to laugh more. But he probably had a more brutal experience than any of us. The way he fought looked like he was rushing to his death."
In the end, Aaron never lost his self-punishing mindset.
"It was like he was testing himself, exposing himself to enemy attacks and barely dodging them... it happened a lot."
This was also true during the battle with the Minotaur, which was the reason Aaron left the party. He jumped right into the path of a battle axe attack that could kill him in one hit, and then barely avoided it.
"In the end, he only learned the skill [Slash], but even so, until he left the party, he was stronger than any of us."
Because he willingly jumped into the line of death without needing to expose himself, Aaron's courage and sense in battle were sharpened more than Lion and the others.
"Fiona, the core of his strength isn't... that he can control his aura precisely and meticulously. He just happened to survive after going through the line of death many times, and that's how he became strong. To get to the level he is now, it wasn't just talent. It wasn't just effort. It was something that can only be described as luck."
After leaving the party, while wandering through the lower floors, Aaron's battles became even more intense.
Aaron, who wouldn't allow himself a meaningless death, certainly took safety margins and continued to fight only relatively weak monsters.
However, he fought almost every day until his magical energy ran out. Even in the lower floors, there was no way there wasn't a danger to his life. It might seem like a dull fight that's hard to understand for high-level explorers, but for Aaron at that time, it was definitely like rolling a dice every day to see if he would live or die.
This was not something that could be done just for money.
Eventually, Aaron was able to expand and vary the skill [Slash] through his control of aura, and he continued deeper into the labyrinth alone.
From the lower floors, where he no longer felt the danger to his life, he moved to deeper floors.
And with each step, Aaron rolled the dice, continuing to get the result of survival. He didn't need to roll such dice if he stayed in the moderate floors.
If Aaron fought the same way as everyone else, most people would definitely die. But if they could survive, wouldn't everyone eventually gain strength similar to Aaron's?
It's a very, very low probability, though.
"I sometimes think. If there is a god that controls fate, maybe Aaron is kept alive by that god... Reason? Well, maybe to make him stronger?"
With those silly words, Lion finished his story.
* * *
――And all the stories came to an end.
"Ms. Fiona, could you pass a message to Aaron?"
"A message, you say?"
In a room of the orphanage, Ordahn spoke to Fiona after sharing what he knew about Aaron's past.
"Yes... That kid regularly donates to this orphanage. It's done anonymously through the bank, but since the amount is significant, I had them check who was donating before. So please tell Aaron that we have already saved up quite a bit of donation money, and he doesn't need to send more. He should use the money for himself instead."
"...Um... Okay, I understand. I will tell him."
Fiona nodded, looking somewhat awkward at Ordahn's words.
Noticing Fiona's attitude, Ordahn asked,
"Is something wrong? Is there something on your mind?"
"No... It's not that, um, here..."
Saying that, Fiona presented a small pouch she took from her storage ring in front of Ordahn.
Inside was a considerable amount of money. It goes without saying that it was a donation for the orphanage.
After being asked to deliver a message not to make donations, she felt awkward about donating herself. As expected, Ordahn tried to refuse Fiona's donation.
"Ms. Fiona, I appreciate your feelings, but――."
"No, this is a thank you for today's conversation. I took up your time, so please accept it."
Fiona insisted as she held it out.
"And... I'm also grateful to Mr. Ordahn."
"Eh...?"
"For helping Aaron."
She looked straight into his eyes and said it with a sincere smile.
Ordahn couldn't help but swallow his refusal at that beautiful smile.
He let out a sigh, smiled wryly, and accepted the small bag.
"...If that's the case, I will gratefully accept this. Thank you, Ms. Fiona."
With that, Fiona and Lucia left the orphanage.
On the way back, holding hands with Lucia, Fiona thought again about Aaron's past.
As she replayed the stories she had heard in her mind, she decided what she should say to Aaron and what she needed to do――then she stopped.
"Hm? Fiona, what's wrong?"
Lucia looked up at Fiona, tilting her head in confusion at her sudden stop.
In response, Fiona gave Lucia a determined look and said,
"Lucia, can you spend the day at the Aron house today?"
"...Huh!? W-Why!?"
Lucia was very flustered by the sudden request. She worried that she might be a bother or that she was disliked.
But that wasn't the case.
"I want to have an important talk with Aaron."
"Important talk...?"
Seeing Fiona's serious expression, she felt relieved that she wasn't being a bother or hated. However, at the same time, a question she couldn't shake off came to mind.
"Does that mean you can't talk if I'm here? I mean, it's okay if I want to sleep first by myself, right?"
She suggested that they could just talk while she was sleeping.
But apparently, that wouldn't work.
"Um, well... it's a talk that kids can't hear!"
Fiona said, her face turning bright red.
That's strange... Lucia thought, feeling suspicious.
(Hmm... Fiona should know that my mental is a super big sister... so saying it can't be heard by kids means... is she worried about the Ickle inside me? No, even so...)
"...Is it not okay if I'm sleeping?"
Lucia argued that it shouldn't matter if she was asleep.
"N-no way!"
"...Why not?"
"Th-that's because... um, you might wake up in the middle..."
Lucia's doubts deepened even more at this.
(Middle? Middle of what? The middle of the talk...? If I wake up, is something bad going to happen?)
No answer came to mind, so she decided to ask directly.
"...Why is it not okay if I wake up?"
"B-because... it's the voice..."
"The voice? What about the voice?"
"The voice... might be heard, you know...?"
"...?"
What happens if she hear the voice? Lucia's questions only grew deeper.
However, Fiona's next words would gradually clear up the confusion.
"Um... if you hear my voice, or sounds, or anything... it's embarrassin...!!"
"Embarrassing...? Fiona's voice isn't embarrassing at all."
"Th-that's not what I mean...!! I-I'm the one who's embarrassed! Um, you wouldn't want to hear those kinds of sounds, right...?"
"Those kinds of sounds...?"
"S-So...!! Ugh~~~! I mean, the, um, moaning sounds...!!"
"...? What do you mean?"
"Ugh! ~~~! I said moaning sounds!!"
"""――――!!?"""
They were in the middle of a street. Naturally, there were other people around, and suddenly, all eyes were on Fiona because of her loud voice.
"――――!!"
Meanwhile, Lucia was also shocked by Fiona's words.
The impulses racing through her mind connected Fiona's words to the many memories within Lucia, revealing a single truth!!
She understood everything...
Lucia Aron. She looked like a child, and her mind was that of a child. But the mental within her was more mature than anyone else in human history. It was extremely easy for her to decipher Fiona's unclear words and guess their meaning!!
Lucia was astonished by the answer she had come to in her mind, and she couldn't help but widen her eyes and look up at Fiona.
(――――She wants to have s-*-x!!!)
That was indeed the perfect answer.
(Oh, I see...!! Fiona wants to have s*x with Aaron, so she tried to make me stay at the Aron house...!! She wants to have s*x, so it would be a problem if I'm at home...!! She wants to have s*x, and she's worried that I might hear voices or sounds when I wake up...!! And she's worried that when I wake up and hear those voices or sounds, I might come in and find them having s*x...!!)
Fully understanding everything, Lucia waved her hands around in a fluster and nodded at Fiona.
"I-I got it...!! I'll stay at Zephy's place today...!!"
"Y-Yeah... I'm sorry, but please...?"
Fiona, with a red face, said that and then took Lucia's hand again, starting to walk once more.
So, when Lucia got home, she casually told Aaron that she would be staying at the Aron house today, and she decided to teleport there――.
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